Worn Me Down by Tara Sivec Blog Tour

WORN ME DOWN (Playing With Fire #3)

by T. E. Sivec

Release day: January 21, 2013

Book Blurb

“Worn me down like a road. I did everything you told. Worn me down to my knees.
I did everything to please.”

Austin Conrad has never taken his personal life seriously. As a Navy SEAL, he spends all of his time in dangerous, life-threatening situations. The only way to leave behind the horrors he’s seen throughout his career, is to turn it all off when he gets home. He’s too much of a playboy to settle down; even if he did find a woman he could stand to be around for more than one night, he would never taint her life with the demons of his past.

When his best friend and SEAL team member, Brady Marshall asks him to keep an eye on his baby sister, Gwen, Austin figures it will be a walk in the park. The only thing Austin likes more than flirting his way under a beautiful woman’s skin, is walking away with a smile on his face. Austin never expects that the single mom and her little girl will be the ones getting under his skin.

Gwen Stratford knows all too well about living in a nightmare. After taking her daughter and fleeing from her abusive husband in the middle of the night several months ago, she’s worked hard to get her life back on track and forget about the man who tried to break her. Growing up under the iron thumb of her parents and then moving right on with a man who ruled their marriage with his fists, Gwen is finally able to breathe and live her life the way she wants.

When scary, mysterious things begin to happen to Gwen and her daughter, she realizes you can never outrun your past; it always has a way of catching up with you. As she struggles with the desire to keep her newfound independence, she knows she won’t be able to protect herself and her child alone. She’ll need to lean on the one man who drives her crazy. 

Can Gwen really put her trust in a man who thinks life is one big joke, or will he be just another man in her life who tries to wear her down?

Angie J's Review:

I received this book ARC in return for an honest review.

OMG I have been waiting for this book.  I loved the banter between Gwen and Austin in Brady's book soooooo needless to say I am excited.

Gwen has been through the wringer.  Brother Brady ditched her and left her with their not so awesome parents to then mary a not so awesome husband and live a not so amazing life.  She only has one good thing....her daughter Emma.  Well it seems Gwens ex is bent on getting her back into his life because he "loves" her..well loves to hit her that is.  She is hiding out and Brady is scared so he contacts Austin to cone and "watch" her while he is on tour with Layla.  So as you can imagine feisty Gwen is non to thrilled to have a baby sitter.  Austin is loving the fact she is annoyed and seems to love bugging her even more.  So the two are "getting along" when the stalking begins by Gwens Ex.  Austin moves the girls into his house and the whole dynamic changes.  Gwen and him are "relating to each other using their bodies" annnnnd he now is thinking of them as HIS GIRLS.  He is playing barbies with Emma and tucking her in bed...but but but Austin is a bad ass Navy Seal!!  He can't be a .......dare I say it...the D word.....a DAD!!!  GASP or a husband........

Enter into the story Gwens best friend Ellie...who we find out has some secrets of her own and is being terrorized by the ex as well.  Gwen and Ellie begin to fear the William has found them.  austin is scratching his head at the fact he thinks he loves Gwen and Gwen is left perplexed cuz she has falles for him but they cant be.  He wants the military and what woman wants to have a man leaadving all the time.  Gwen wants freedom and not to rely in anyone but herself so a relationship will not workl........

Sooo as you can tell : HOT MESS!!!  Thier is alot of chemistry and alot of mystery plus a lotta "what the heck" and "where the heck is he" through this entire book.  I am amazed this this is the author who writes in one series about sex toys and vibrator races with lollipops and sex swings.  This series she writes great mysteries and suspence with the amazing sex and humor you expect from her.  I mean Tara can write just about anything she sets her mind to IMO!!!

Melinda's Review:

  

I received an ARC from the Author to give a truthful review. 

I have been waiting for this book since the teaser at the end of Because of You.  I loved the tantrum that Gwen threw wanting a pink gun and to have Austin say “Pink and Sparkles” in the same sentence. I knew this was going to be a good one.  I am a sucker for a strong woman in a story not a week girl that needs protecting.

Gwen can hold her own by all means.  She has had a hard life you wouldn’t know it by looking at her and her family.  Sometimes things aren’t always as they seem on the outside.  Her brother enlists the help of Austin to watch after Gwen while he is away.   Austin is a player and thinks this is going to be an easy assignment looking after Brady’s little sister.  Being the tough gal Gwen is she is having no part of Austin “babysit” her.  Gwen is reunited with her best friend, Ellie, who has a secret of her own that floors Gwen. 

The banter between Gwen and Austin is great and then add little Emma to the mix.  I love it when Austin played Navy SEAL with Emma all to keep her from making him “look pretty”.  The scene at the airport was a tearjerker for me (and that is all I’m saying about that).  Reading the scene where Austin takes Gwen to the shooting range and has her pick a gun.  I loved reading her throw her tantrum again over wanting a pink gun.

 Who would have thought that a strong willed woman and a sweet little girl would have worn down the walls to a tough Navy SEAL or a tough Navy SEAL would have made his way in to a strong willed woman and sweet little girls heart.  After all the time Austin spends with Gwen and Emma he has to decide if he wants to be with “his girls” or a SEAL.  He doesn’t see a way to have them both.

I loved the suspense that Tara has in all these books.  This one is no different.  You think you know what is going on and who is behind things and then part way through you start to second guess yourself.  You have no idea who is behind the crazy things that are going on and then when it becomes apparent who it is and why you think WOW didn’t see that one coming. So once again I will be waiting for the next one to see what kind of a ride Tara will take me on next. 

 

   

Tour-wide Giveaway info:

Tara is giving away lots of fun things.

1^st Place – One engraved iPod Nano and a $50 iTunes gift card so you can load it up with the playlist she created while writing this story.

2^nd Place – One autographed set of the entire Playing With Fire series

3^rd Place – 10 people will win a Worn Me Down swag pack filled with dog tags, bookmarks and other goodies

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tara Sivec Bio:

Tara Sivec is a USA Today best-selling author, wife, mother, chauffeur, maid, short-order cook, baby-sitter, and sarcasm expert. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two children and looks forward to the day when they all three of them become adults and move out.

After working in the brokerage business for fourteen years, Tara decided to pick up a pen and write instead of shoving it in her eye out of boredom. She is the author of the Playing with Fire series and the Chocolate Lovers series. Her novel Seduction and Snacks won first place in the Indie Romance Convention Reader’s Choice Awards 2013 for Best Indie First Book.

In her spare time, Tara loves to dream about all of the baking she’ll do and naps she’ll take when she ever gets spare time.

Tara also writes under the pen name T.E. Sivec.

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